Dave Casler
PO Box 98
Ridgway, Colorado 81432
Young Adult Novels by Dave Casler...
I've been told by publisher after publisher that there's no market for Young Adult novels. I think they're wrong! So I'm putting my novels on-line for you. Forget the publisher! Read to your heart's content--it's free! And, I'd like to hear from you, too! Contact Page.
You're reading About Dan. Be sure to check out About Phillip here.
Dan is a normal kid who loves his soccer. Except everything goes wrong. Everything.
About Series Home
About the About Series
Index to All Chapters
Here are all the chapters, disguised as asterisks. Hover your mouse over an asterisk to see the title of the chapter. Click on the asterisk to go straight to that chapter.
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(About Dan Home) (Last) (Next)
Room 513
Dan wasn't sure what to expect. The room was large, much larger than most of the classrooms. Most of the Down kids were at one end with two adults helping them through some sort of activity that completely engrossed them. Kevin was at the other end, an aide by his side who was talking to him quietly. Kevin’s arms were flailing wildly; he looked irritated. Two other kids in wheelchairs that Dan had never seen were by the window, their backs to him, working with something at a table.
Dan did a double take. Cheryl. She was leaning over the kids at the table, pointing at something. The kids laughed at something she said, and then she laughed, too.
"Uh, hi, Cheryl," said Dan, just loudly enough that she'd hear.
She whirled about, nearly falling as she caught one crutch on a wheelchair. Her face lit up. "Hi, Dan! What brings you to the famous classroom 513?"
Linda looked up at Dan, quizzically. " You know our Cheryl?" she asked him.
"Oh, yes I do," he replied. He turned to Linda and said in a stage whisper, "Do you know I danced with her once?"
Linda squealed in delight. Cheryl came over to the door while the two kids in wheelchairs turned around to see who was disrupting their class.
"I brought Linda back," explained Dan. "She got lost."
"Thanks, Dan. We were getting worried; I was about ready to go looking for her. The school is a very big place for these kids. Linda, you can say goodbye to Dan and go back to your group, ok?"
"Goodbye, Dan. Thank you. I hope you feel better." She took his hand and patted it. Dan guessed she was trying to imitate her mother. He smiled at her as she left to rejoin her peers.
"What was that all about?" asked Cheryl.
"Oh, she got lost and fell down and nearly lost the attendance slip, right outside my chemistry class. So I helped her navigate a bit."
"No, I mean what was the sympathy all about?"
"Oh, somehow she found out my mother died." He looked over at Linda, who was now fully integrated into the activity. She had her back to him. "I should be the one giving her sympathy," he said as quietly as he could.
"Dan, she's a very happy girl," began Cheryl.
"Why are you here?" interrupted Dan. "You don't need to be in this classroom, do you?"
"This is my sixth period class. I'm a teacher's assistant. I really love working with these kids. By the way," she added, "do you know that quite a few of them remember you? For weeks they were asking why you disappeared from the bus. Kevin over there," she pointed to him, "thought you had died. He was very upset. Do you want to say hello to him?"
"Cheryl, I should be getting back to chemistry. Besides, I didn't think he could talk."
"Oh, Dan," she smiled, "you're just scared. Come along!"
She grabbed his arm and pulled. Dan did as he was told. He approached Kevin from the front and stood about ten feet away from him, just as Cheryl directed. He waited for Kevin to notice him. Kevin was swaying back and forth in anger at his aide's insistent questions.
Finally, after nearly a minute, Kevin noticed Dan's presence. He stopped swaying and fixed his eyes on Dan. His head bobbed a bit. The frustration seemed to melt away as he tried to form a smile. His mouth opened, but it was nearly twenty seconds before he could form any words. His aide stopped to see what Kevin was looking at. She smiled at Dan, but didn't say anything. "D-D-D-D...Da-Da-Da...D-D-D-Da-Dan!," began Kevin. He started bobbing back and forth excitedly, his arms waving in Dan's direction.
"Ok, Dan, move slowly toward Kevin. Keep eye contact. Stop when you're about a foot in front of him. Hold out your hand," Cheryl prompted. "Don't make any sudden moves or you'll frighten him. Just hold out your hand and let him touch you."
Dan followed instructions; in fact he was transfixed by Kevin's attention. He held out his hand as though to shake Kevin’s. Kevin's hands flailed around. Finally, Kevin had enough control to brush his hand against Dan's. At first this seemed to frighten Kevin and he pulled both his arms back. Slowly, however, the flailing arms came forward again until he finally grabbed Dan's hand. Dan held his own hand steady. Kevin seemed very pleased. Kevin started to stroke Dan's hand. This seemed to calm him.
"H-H-H-H-H-e-l-l-l-o D-D-Da-Dan," he said, painfully and slowly.
"Hello, Kevin. I'm getting better now. My knee is healing. It's nice to see you again."
"Y-Y-Y-Ye-Yes."
"Kevin, I’m interrupting your lesson. It's nice to say hello. I think I should let you continue now." Kevin was still brushing his hand.
"G-G-G-Good B-B-Bye D-D-Dan."
Kevin pulled his hands away. He seemed very pleased. Dan backed away, still looking at Kevin, until he felt Cheryl's hand on his shoulder. He waved at Kevin and then turned toward the door. Cheryl followed him on her crutches.
"Thanks for stopping by, Dan, it's nice to see you!" she said as they reached the doorway.
"Uh, no problem. I was just trying to help Linda."
"Well, you certainly brightened Kevin's day. He's had a bad one."
"Cool. Listen, I really need to run, or I'm going to miss all of chemistry. And that's not something I can afford to do!"
"Come by Room 513 again!" She flashed her most cheerful smile.
"Ok, I'll see you later." Dan smiled and then was off. He worked his way unsteadily across the building and back to the chemistry lab. He nearly fell down the stairs at one point, but grabbed the rail just in time to avoid a tumble. Got to slow down, he thought.
Finally he was back at Peter's side with only fifteen minutes left before the end of class. "Sorry about that!" he whispered.
"What'd you do? Take her out for ice cream?" grumbled Peter.
"Yeah. A banana split. Too bad you weren't there. It was pretty good."
"Well, fill out these data sheets. Here's what we're doing," he said as he shoved several sheets of paper at him. "If you hurry, we just might avoid flunking."
"Thanks for covering for me," whispered Dan. He started copying lab results into his notebook.